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Lightships of the Columbia Bar

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Lightships of the Columbia Bar LIGHTSHIPS OF THE COLUMBIA BAR STORY BY STEVE ZUGER LV-50 COURTESY RON JANARD RON COURTESY For nearly a century, ships anchored in treacherous waters— and manned by sturdy, adventurous souls— helped vessels navigate into the Columbia River channel. 40 Winter 2018-2019 OREGON COAST www.oregoncoastmagazine.com COURTESY RON JANARD RON COURTESY FACING PAGE: WLV-604, the last lightship to serve on the Oregon Coast, now rests at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. ABOVE: The LV-50, the first lightship chosen for duty on the Columbia River, began its service in 1892. ARITIME LEGENDS HAVE a way of running mariners. It took a unique type of person to work deep, and word of a treacherous patch of aboard a lightship: one who had courage, patience, Mwater never takes long to get around. The and the willingness to put the safety of others front Columbia River Bar is one such place. and center. A system of submerged shoals and sandbars three Feelings of isolation and loneliness were magnified miles wide and six miles long, the bar is where the by the haunting sound of the wind passing through mighty Columbia River, flowing from the east like the rigging wires and the crashing of the waves. If this water from a high-pressure hose, collides with the wasn’t enough to rattle nerves, the fear of being hit by Pacific Ocean’s opposing current. This around-the- a passing ship and the constant pitching and rolling clock collision has claimed several hundred lives and added to the discomfort. The foghorn itself was also sent nearly 2,000 ships to the ocean floor. hard on the crew’s nerves, with 140 decibels sending A place where conditions can change from calm- shockwaves through the ship. and-collected to terrifying faster than you can slap One lightship sailor, Jim Gill, described duty off a tick, the bar has always been a challenge. When the coast of Washington. “Most of the guys were storms and darkness settle onto this dangerous patch puking their guts out into a bucket—the ones not of ocean, mariners need help. A high-intensity form affected were starving because the galley was shut of illumination to light the way across the bar was the down . sleep was often impossible due to the violent obvious choice, but a lighthouse could not be built motion, the roar of gale force winds, and the bellow of at the mouth of the Columbia because of depth and the fog signal every thirty seconds or so.” currents. So, a surrogate situation had to be found—in Lightships had to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven the form of a lightship. days a week. When conditions turned violent, ships The lightships, called “ships that went nowhere,” would drop a 7,500-pound mushroom-shaped anchor provided a solid and stationary reference point for to the sea floor. Still, there are 247 recorded instances www.oregoncoastmagazine.com OREGON COAST Winter 2018-2019 41 of lightships being blown adrift and dragged off station by powerful winds. While other vessels usually took refuge some distance from a storm, the captain of a lightship would remain on station to let out more anchor cable and ride out the weather the best way possible. The first United States lightship put to use was in Chesapeake Bay in 1820. The last one to serve was the Nantucket 1, decommissioned by the United States Coast Guard on March 29, 1985. These two vessels were bookends to a lengthy timeline of amazing SOCIETY LIGHTHOUSE US COURTESY maritime service and stories of lightships and crew. From 1892 through 1979, four lightships were assigned to stations off the Columbia Bar. As these ships were moved from station to station, recordkeep- ing became a tangled mess. In 1867, all the lightships were given permanent numbers by which they could be identified. The stations they were assigned to would be painted on their sides in large, bold lettering and new names would be re-applied as needed. When a lightship was held in reserve to serve in place of one in dry dock for repairs or maintenance, the word RELIEF would be painted on the hull, which was often painted red to be seen out at sea. The first vessel chosen for duty on the Columbia River Bar was LV-50 (Light Vessel 50) Columbia. It began service in 1892, holding the honor of being the first lightship to serve on the Pacific coast. When its two-and-a-half-ton anchor, along with two other COURTESY COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM 250-4748 backup anchors, slammed into the sea floor, it stapled the lightship in place with a position about 4.4 miles southwest of Cape Disappointment. Soon after, the vessel was moved three miles farther south to mark the main channel entrance. LV-50 was a well-crafted product from San Francisco’s Union Iron Works. Known as a sail schooner rig, the illumination apparatus consisted of two lanterns, each with eight oil lamps. A fog signal was also used when conditions called for it. This was a loud, hand-operated 12-inch steam whistle. On November 9, 1899, LV-50 broke loose from its CONFLUENCEPROJECT.ORG COURTESY FORD, F. J. BY PHOTO anchor chain as the result of 74-mile-per-hour winds. It stayed offshore under sail while desperate attempts were made to tow it ashore. During this operation, FROM TOP: In 1969, Lightship 605 was renamed the Relief, and stood in for all West Coast lightships when they left station for overhaul; The it ran aground near the Cape Disappointment light- LV-93 lit the waters of the Columbia from 1939-1951; Lightship LV-50 after it ran aground. 42 Winter 2018-2019 OREGON COAST www.oregoncoastmagazine.com house, where it lay stranded for over a year. A marine railway was eventually built and the lightship was jacked up onto a cradle. It was then hauled almost 700 yards and launched into Baker Bay at a cost of $17,500, a pretty penny back then. LV-50 had a knack for repeating history when the ship ran aground again on October 6, 1905, due to a snapped anchor chain. The ship was found a quarter mile from Cape Disappointment, beached and banged up. She went off-station again in May 1907, this time going adrift at sea for five days until vessel and crew were rescued by an oceangoing tugboat. In 1909, COURTESY COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM252-13926 lightship LV-50 was retired from service at the age of 17 years. It was time for a fresh vessel with new lighting, so lightship LV-88 took over to claim its own patch of notorious water at the Columbia Bar, under the guidance of the ship’s leader, Master J. Nielsen. Born of an East Coast shipyard, LV-88 was an example of durability and elegance, with elaborate woodwork below her decks and a steel hull. She cut quite a silhouette with tall masts contrasting against the bathtub style of the hull. The ship was delivered via the Strait of Magellan because the Panama Canal was yet to open. She was driven by a steam-powered propeller, new technology for its time. In the 1920s, the ship was outfitted with a radio and eventually a radio beacon. In the interest of improved lighting range and COURTESY COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM251-4814 reliability, its kerosene lamps were replaced with electric lights. Technology had come a long way from an earlier time of oil wick burners and copper reflectors. FROM TOP: LV-88, the second lightship to serve at the Columbia Bar A few years later, while anchored in the mouth vicinity; Lightship LV-50 as it is being hauled across land in 1901. of the Columbia River, lightship LV-88 was associ- www.oregoncoastmagazine.com OREGON COAST Winter 2018-2019 43 ated with something not normally seen by the ship’s crew. On one particular day in 1934, the crew of LV-88 crossed paths with a large unknown sea creature swimming near the mouth of the Columbia River. First Mate L.A. Larson was the first to report the sighting. He described what he saw as a marine creature about 40 feet in JANARD RON COURTESY length and looking like a plesiosaur. News reports at the mouth of the river. The assignment would end up being time say the crew studied the animal for a while a 29-year run. through field glasses. Some men wanted to inves- When a 7,000-pound anchor dropped from the bow tigate further by taking out a lifeboat to chase it of Columbia, it nailed in place the small red ship about down, but the acting officers of LV-88 turned down five miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. their request because of fears the boat would be This product of the Rice Brothers Shipyard of East swamped. But there would be more sightings of Boothbay, Maine, proved to be one tough ship that the animal through the years by crews of different didn’t take no for an answer. Built with a steel hull, vessels. The creature would end up being known as the vessel showed confidence through angry seas and Colossal Claude. was strong enough to survive into the next century. The lights high above the deck were rated at 15,000 After LV-88 was removed from service in 1939, candlepower, with an eventual upgrade to 600,000 LV-93 was immediately put on duty. The robust candlepower that increased the range of light up to 13 crew moored the vessel at the main channel for the nautical miles.
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